A Just Arbiter

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On July 11, 2010, the 19th FIFA World Cup ended. For the first time since 1930, Spain had gotten through to the finals and became champions. Big-time news circled to millions of fans around the globe instantly, thanks to the miracle of modern television, thought to be by many, a just arbiter.

This year’s event highlighted the poor performance of old time favorite teams like Argentina, Brazil, Germany, Italy, and England; the poor execution of celebrity players like Cristiano Ronaldo, Leonel Messi, Kaka, Thierry Henry, and Fernando “El Niño” Torres; but more importantly, the poor judgment and short-sightedness of the arbitrate. Many joked around saying that the only umpire that performed extraordinarily well was Paul der Krake. His accurate predictions got him the Spanish citizenship, after choosing Spain over the Netherlands in the final match.

Many of you may be wondering why I am writing about soccer on our blog about running. If you have participated in or been a fan of any sport, you will agree with me: nothing more disheartening, discomforting, frustrating, and even infuriating than a rough referee. You know the feeling in the face of unfairness, discrimination, predilection, blindness, prejudice, corruption, and sometimes even bribe. The Bible has a lot to say about injustice and its consequences. Consider for example the following passage in the metaphorical context of a running match:

“Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus” (NIV: Philippians 3:13-14).

A Righteous Prize

You may be familiar with the picture: the runner’s chest straining forward and pressing on to break the finish band. Finishing the race. Winning the prize. You may be thinking, “Well, if you cross the finish line, you are a winner.” Let me tell you, not necessarily. You are only a winner when you have run a fair race and when the race officials accept your performance as valid. In other words, you are only a winner by the authority of the race organizers and its representatives. The match referees have the last word. What does this have to do with justice?

As you probably know, this passage was originally written by Paul the Apostle in the Greek language. The Greek word usually translated as “prize” is brabeion, and literally means the decision of the arbiter or brabeus, also from the Greek. In ancient day, the prize for finishing a race was a crown of olive leaves. This certainly did not have any monetary value since it decayed after several days. It only had symbolic value. The real prize was to be called out from the multitude into the podium by the arbiter. Being singled out as a winner by the referee was the epitome of success. The calling was the righteous prize.

A Righteous Judge

Read the passage again under this new light. Hopefully you can see now its relationship with justice. Justice is made perfect in God. His prize is his calling. His podium is heaven. His measure is running the race of faith. His rule is Christ. To this effect, Paul even says a few verses before:

“I didn't want some petty, inferior brand of righteousness that comes from keeping a list of rules when I could get the robust kind that comes from trusting Christ—God's righteousness” (NIV: Philippians 3:9)

God is a just arbiter. He is not blindsided. He is not nearsighted. He cannot be bribed. He does not overlook your play. He pays attention to your run. He does not need consultation to know what is fair. He is not in need of television replay.

In 2008, FIFA president Sepp Blatter said: “Let it be as it is and let's leave (soccer) with errors. The television companies will have the right to say (the referee) was right or wrong, but still the referee makes the decision — a man, not a machine."^* Human error may be part of your game. Human mistakes have affected your race of faith. Perhaps you have been subject to the injustices of our skewed legal system. You may be living the consequences of bad decisions made by judges, who were convinced by the manipulations of evil attorneys. Or perhaps you have done wrong in the past and you think you deserve what you got. Remember: “God is a righteous judge” (NIV: Psalm 7:11). He is looking over you and he is on your side if only you could trust Him.

A Righteous Runner

God always makes good calls. The most important of his calls: having called you onto the podium to give you your prize. In the world of sports, if the authority calls you the champion, you are. God himself calls you a winner, and if he calls you a winner, you are. It does not matter what other things you may be called by many others. It does not even matter what you call yourself. You have been made righteous in God’s eyes. You are a righteous runner because God has called you so.

It was irrelevant what anybody thought about Spain walking up to the stage. Some did not like it. Some did not care. However, when the FIFA president recognized the new champions and gave them the World Cup, it was captivating. “Come up to the stage!” says God, “and receive your prize.” Trust in God and things will turn in your favor. “The person who believes God, is set right by God—and that's the real life” (The Message: Galatians 3:11).

^[*] FIFA Halts Instant Replay Experiment, CBC Sports [http://www.cbc.ca/sports/soccer/story/2008/03/08/fifa-instant-replay.html] Last accessed September 30, 2010.

Vladimir Lugo